Hunting, Love and Mockery Songs

Since the late 1950s Radio France's Ocora imprint has been releasing well-recorded and brilliantly annotated field recordings of ethnic music from around the world. Music from the Pygmy hunter-gatherer communities of Central Africa, Cameroon and northern Congo – known as the Aka and Baka, and collectively as Bayaka – has been assumed to be primarily vocal. This particular CD release gives a tremendous insight into the instrumental accompaniment to what is now a familiar style of singing. For the most part it is stringed instruments used in the accompaniment – single or double-stringed musical bows, zither and harp. The instrumentation is mostly very gentle and rarely intrudes on the vocal performance.

It is notable that this recording has less of a massed polyphonic chorus than is often heard on Bayaka recordings. There is more of an intimacy – almost like lullabies – and the music is frequently quite hypnotic. There are, however, several tracks that include a complete range of head vocals and chest vocals with the characteristic yodels and counterpoint for which Pygmy singing is famous. A beautiful and fascinating example of a remarkable musical culture.